Conventionally, in order to sell one kind of products in a plurality of areas, especially in various countries, it is necessary to make changes to the products to make them fit to environments of the areas and the countries.
For example, in a program used in an electric device including image display, it is necessary that language information which is displayed in images by the program is replaced by language information of a country to which the program will be sold. In Japan, where the domestic a.c. electric source has the 50 Hz area and the 60 Hz area, various means are taken, e.g., a specification of a domestic electric product is partially changed in accordance with an area where the electric product is sold, are made fit to language information of the country, are made usable in both areas.
External memory devices, such as game cartridges, etc., sold in a certain area are sold at proper prices in the area. For example, the sale price of one external memory device is different between Japan, and countries other than Japan, e.g., North America and Southeast Asia. This makes a malicious third party other than a sale company of external memory devices to buy them in countries where prices are lower and sell them in countries where prices are higher so as to get great profit. This makes it also possible for a third party other than a sale company to buy external memory devices which have been already sold in a country to buy them in the country and sell them in countries where the external memory devices are not yet sold so as to unduly get great profit. In view of these circumstances, it is preferred that an external memory device fabricated in consideration of local characteristics of an area is prevented from operating in areas other than the intended area.
To this end, a video game machine or others in which are used external memory devices storing game programs for controlling progress of the games have been made operative only in an intended area by the following means.
A first area code indicative of a sale area is in advance stored in a memory unit of the body of a video game machine. On the other hand, a second area code indicative of a the sale area is stored in an external memory device to be used in the video game machine. The external memory device stores a plurality of game programs which correspond to a plurality of different sale areas, and a plurality of second area codes. The external memory device mounted on the video game machine is checked by a check program incorporated in the video game machine before the start of the game program or in the progress of the game program. The checking selects a second area code which agrees with the first area code, and the game program alone corresponding to the second area code is executed as a game program for the sale area.
However, in a case that local needs become diverse, or an external memory device is sold in more countries, disadvantageously this means cannot work only by providing area codes to respective countries.
Such video game machines, etc. must store different area codes corresponding to respective countries. This leads to a disadvantage of costs increase, ill inventory, etc. of the video game machines unless correct sales estimates, actual sales, etc. of respective countries can be grasped.
Furthermore, this means also has a disadvantage that in a case that an area code of an area is stored as a fixed value in the body of the video game machine, it is impossible to later subdivide the area code. That is, at the beginning of sale of the video game machine, one area code is given to an area including a plurality of areas, and even in a case that under later changed circumstances, operations of game programs must be controlled in accordance with said plurality of areas, this means cannot meet such situation.
One object of the present invention is to provide an information processing device which can make control in accordance with an area.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an electric device comprising the information processing device which can make control in accordance with an area.
Further another object of the present invention is to provide a game device comprising the information processing device which can make control in accordance with an area.